If fans could learn anything, Sport climbing Leading the Qualifying Round Budapest 2024 Olympic Qualification Seriesit may show up earlier.
The event took place in an outdoor park on the Hungarian capital's Ludwika Campus, where the few shaded areas were quickly taken over by people who flocked to the venue early on Friday morning, on what was expected to be the hottest day of the week amid scorching heat.
We also got to enjoy some of the best climbing of the day. Men and women were climbing together on the lead wall, with the pair in the spotlight being the number two female lead climber in the world, who was third to the top. Seo Chae-hyun Men's Lead Specialist 3rd Place Alexander Megos.
Germany's Megos in particular had a lot to prove after a lackluster boulder qualifying session on Thursday, landing just one top hold out of four problems and dropping him to 14th place.
“It's a whole other story climbing and competing in this heat,” he told Olympic.com after Thursday's bouldering round. “It was OK. Not bad, but I'm hoping the lead is still better.”
The efforts paid off on Friday, when the 30-year-old achieved the highest climb up the wall, scoring just over an 88-point hold.
A visibly excited Megos let out a whoop of joy as he fell down the wall just three holds from the top. His 88.1 points gave him a 137.0 total, good enough for third place in the preliminary round.
The only other man to achieve the same 88-point hold was the Olympic champion Alberto Gines Lopeztook the lead in the overall standings with 152.5 points. Adam Ondra (141.9) separates the two.